UMW English Students Share Research At UC Davis Conference

University of Montana Western English majors Selika McGlynn and Rebecca Shandy presented their original research at Connections 2025, an academic conference hosted by graduate students at the University of California, Davis. Their papers were developed as part of the final project in LIT 228: Italian Late Middle Ages Literature, a co-taught course by Dr. Sean Eudaily and Dr. Bethany Blankenship.

The course explores major literary works from the Italian Renaissance, including texts by Dante Alighieri, Francesco Petrarch, and Giovanni Boccaccio. Designed around UMW’s experiential learning model, LIT 228 blends Dr. Eudaily’s expertise in Renaissance political and classical philosophy with Dr. Blankenship’s specialization in literary analysis.

As part of the class, students submitted abstracts to a real academic conference. Drs. Eudaily and Blankenship selected Connections, hosted annually by UC Davis graduate students, for its theme—landscapes—and its encouragement of undergraduate participation. Several students had their abstracts accepted, and this year, McGlynn and Shandy traveled to California to present in person.

“Attending the conference gave me real insight into literary research and academic discussion with people from across the country,” said Shandy, a junior. “Presenting my paper was nerve-wracking but a fantastic opportunity to be pushed out of my comfort zone within my literary studies.”

Her paper examined the physical and psychological landscapes of despair in Dante’s Inferno and Boccaccio’s The Decameron. She noted that the course challenged her to think critically and approach research more independently. “My goal for this class was to try my hand at conducting some of my own academic research. Being given the chance to apply for the conference, be accepted, and present helped me achieve that goal.”

Shandy also praised the dual-instructor format. “Having both Dr. Blankenship and Dr. Eudaily co-teaching one block class was great. I feel like I was pushed to expand my thinking, writing, and research in new ways due to having multiple perspectives in the classroom. This course stands for what X1 is all about.”

For McGlynn, who has since graduated and been accepted into the Master’s in English program at Montana State University in Bozeman, the experience was a rewarding capstone to her undergraduate career. “Overall, my experience was very fun,” she said. “The conference was hosted by graduate school students and included many different study groups that focused on landscapes.”

She initially doubted her work would be accepted. “When I got the email that I was chosen to present, I stared at it and just thought, ‘There is no way.’ I had finished my thesis just a week or two before, so it actually worked out really well.”

McGlynn’s paper analyzed how Dante and Boccaccio used the city of Florence as a psychological landscape. “Dante used his exile as inspiration for Inferno, creating a hellish landscape drawn from political events he had witnessed. Boccaccio, on the other hand, wrote The Decameron during the plague, beginning with death and horror in Florence before retreating into a symbolic Eden—a walled garden in the countryside.”

She also reflected on the course’s unique structure. “Having the opportunity to learn from both the literary and historical sides of the material brought the class to life in a new way. I would definitely recommend taking a dual class with Dr. Blankenship and Dr. Eudaily if there is one open!”

Dr. Blankenship sees opportunities like these as essential to English studies. “One of the best ways to teach literature experientially is to have students do what scholars do: read deeply, write critically, and share their work with the academic community,” she said. “We’re incredibly proud of Selika and Rebecca for representing UMW so well on a national stage.”

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